Microphone mounting

ABSTRACT

A mounting for positioning a miniature microphone relative to a structure such as a telephone handset cradle. The mounting firmly positions the microphone in a manner for reception of sound and provides a resilient shock and sound absorbing mounting into which the microphone may be readily assembled without the need for additional mounting members.

United States Patent [1 1 Reddick [451 Jan. 15, 1974 MICROPHONE MOUNTING [75] Inventor: Willis C. Reddick, Corinth, Miss.

[73] Assignee: International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, New York, N.Y

221 Filed: May 15, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 253,080

[52] US. Cl. 179/146 R, 179/179 [51] Int. Cl. H04m l/14 [58] Field of Search 179/146 R, 178, 179,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1955 Nicholides 179/146 R 3,048,668 8/1962 Weiss 179/179 3,038,038 6/1962 Bloom 179/179 X 3,257,516 6/1966 Knowles 179/180 Primary Examiner-William C. Cooper Att0rneyC. Cornell Remsen, Jr. et a1.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A mounting for positioning a miniature microphone relative to a structure such as a telephone handset cradle. The mounting firmly positions the microphone in a manner for reception of sound and provides a resilient shock and sound absorbing mounting into which the microphone may be readily assembled without the need for additional mounting members.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures MICROPHONE MOUNTING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Mounting structures for microphones and especially 5 FIG. 4;

miniature microphones take many forms. Themain criterion which each mounting must satisfy is that it position the microphone to receive whatever audio signals the microphone is being used to receive. The mounting should physically hold the microphone firmly in this position, and should provide some form of shock-face mounting and acoustic isolation. For example, in a standard telephone transmitter, the. microphone is essentially disc shaped, drops onto a flanged platform in the rigid plastic housing. A cup-shaped mouthpiece of rigid plastic peripherally threaded screws into the threaded inner wall of a tubular housing to firmly grasp and hold the microphone. The base of the cup is suit ably perforated to provide audio inlet openings in communication with the microphone sound openings.

While the present invention is not designed to replace a telephone transmitter, this example is presented to illustrate the problems to be solved by a microphone mounting and one well known solution to these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a mounting structure for holding a transducer such as a microphone. The microphone shown is a miniature one of the type frequently referred to as a hearing aid microphone. The microphone as shown is a small rectangular block but could, in fact, be disc-shaped or any other regular shape. In one wall of the microphone is an audio opening. The microphone rests within a housing shaped to receive the microphone and between the housing and microphone is fitted a resilient cup-shaped receptical to fit about and conform to the shape of the microphone and to rest tightly within the housing. The receptacle has an opening in one face larger than that of the microphone audio opening and designed to be aligned therewith.

The end wall of the receptacle rests against the adjacent housing wall and receives the end of the microphone to position the microphone and receiver openings in alignment with a like opening in the housing 'wall. The receptacle face between the microphone and housing wall has a circular, ribbed thickened wall section about the audio opening, the thickened wall dimensioned to rest against the housing inner wall and hold tightly thereagainst the front face of the micro- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a telephone base employing my invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view in elevation of the housing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view in elevation of the housing of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a front view in elevation of a microphone as shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a side view in elevation of the microphon of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In FIG. 1, I show the base of a telephone instrument with a sloping front face 12, the front face including a dial 14, key telephone line buttons 16 and a loudspeaker opening 18.

Mounted on the side of the instrument is a cradle 20 cantilevered from the interior of the instrument. The cradle, as is well known, receives a handset (not shown). With the handset on the cradle, the cradle is depressed placing the handset in an ON-hook condition. Removal of the handset allows the cradle to rise closing or opening switch contacts, as necessary to place the instrument in an OFF-hook condition. This operation is very well known and need not be detailed herein further.

Mounted on this cradle is a microphone housing 30, the housing being a generally rhomboidal prism or rigid plastic shell as shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3. The housing 30 has a main body 32 with side wings 34 for mounting on the hand-set cradle 20. The side wings have socket bores 36 for affixing thereto suitable mounting members, not shown.

The housing has a generally rhomboidal cavity 40 with a bottom opening 42. The front face 50 of the housing has an audio opening 52 to'open to cavity 40, the opening being approximately centrally located in the front face 50. The housing is otherwise generally imperforate. The front face 50 terminates in a protruding base edge adapted to rest on the cradle, the protrudingedge causing small triangular openings between each housing side wall 54, and the level cradle top surface. The rear face of the housing has a rhomboidal inset 56 in its lower edge.

Fitted within the cavity 40 is a microphone support receptacle 60 (shown in detail in FIGS. 4-6), which is generally thin-walled, resilient member of rubber or the like with generally rectangular outer and inner contours. The receptacle may preferably be a molded onepiece member as will now be described. Receptacle 60 is open at one end, suitably closed at the other, and in its front face 62 has a centrally located audio opening 64 considerably larger than that of the housing opening 52. The receptacle is otherwise imperforate in its walls and top end.

The front face 62 of the receptacle has a thick-walled section 66 which is circular in extend about the audio opening 64, and a wide wall 67 extending for the full height of the face. The front face has its bottom edge 68 inturned slightly as viewed in FIG. 6. Both side walls 70 of the receptacle have on their outer surface, integral top to bottom continuous ribs 72, one rib per side. On the rear face 74 of the receptacle are three top to bottom, continuous ribs 76 spaced apart along the face. The ribs 72 and 76 are comparatively narrow in width and are slightly more protrusive than they are wide, so that they do not greatly stiffen the walls of the receptacle. The receptacle has an inset 78 at the base of its rear wall. Dimensionally, across the ribs dimensions of the exterior of the receptacle may be nominally the same or slightly less than those of the cavity to ensure a tight fit within the housing.

Adapted to fit within the receptacle is a microphone 70 of the type frequently called a hearing aid microphone, and shown in detail in FIGS. 7 and 8. The microphone has a metallic closed casing 82 of generally rectangular cross-section throughout. At its rear bottom edge are two spaced-apart terminals 84 for connection to suitable conductors. Centrally located in its front face is an audio opening 86 which provide the acoustic input to the microphone interior.

Dimensionally, the receptacle 60 is sized to stretch and bulge somewhat, both rearwardly and sidewise, when the microphone is inserted therein, with the microphone terminals 84 extending from inset 78. With the receptacle bulged, the microphone rests tightly within the receptacle. The microphone audio opening is aligned at about the center of the receptacle with its top wall resting against the inside end wall of cavity 40. In assembling the unit microphone and receptacle into the housing, the receptacle with microphone is pushed into the housing cavity with the ribs of the bulged receptacle having a definite tight interference fit in the housing cavity. The ribs will yield as the receptacle enters the cavity and form a tight completed assembly. With the receptacle fully inserted in the cavity, its top wall will rest against the top cavity wall and align the receptacle audio opening in direct communication with the housing audio opening. Housing rear wall inset 56 provides a space for wires to connect the terminals electrically to the interior of the instrument.

Thus, in the completed assembly, the microphone fits tightly in the receptacle and the receptacle tightly in the housing. With full insertion of the microphone in the receptacle and the receptacle in the housing, the microphone audio opening is in open communication with the housing audio opening through the oversized receptacle opening. Further, with the microphone and receptacle fully inserted in the housing cavity, the lower end of the microphone is inset in the receptacle to allow the bottom edge of the receptacle to yield inwardly at inturned edge 68 and position the microphone spaced above the base of the receptacle. With the receptacle fully inserted in the housing, the receptacle holds the bottom end of the microphone spaced above the base of the housing.

The thick-walled circular section 66 on the front face of the receptacle forms an audio seal against the adjacent interior face of the housing cavity with the microphone tightly held against the receptacle inside face. The ribs on the receptacle provide a shock mounting for the microphone positioning the microphone suitably within the housing, and only the housing needs to be mounted by screws or the like to the instrument. Further, the resilient ribs allow the parts to be made to less than rigid tolerances since most variances will be compensated for by the receptacle ribs. The resilient material around the microphone dampens sound vibrations transmitted by a speaker and carried through the telephone structure.

In the completed assembly, one side edge of the receptacle will rest against the adjacent housing wall at approximately the level of the cradle top surface, the other side edge of the receptacle being spaced from the cradle surface due to the side inclination of the housing as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this way, the positioning of the receptacle relative to the housing will remain and will keep the microphone from the cradle top surface under most normal conditions.

When the unit is assembled with the microphone fully inserted in the receptacle and the receptacle fully inserted in the housing, the exposed end of the microphone is within the confines of the adjacent side, front and rear walls of the receptacle and the receptacle is inset a distance from the bottom of the housing.

To remove the microphone for replacement, the housing is detached from the cradle and the receptacle, though tightly lodged in the housing, may be pulled from the cavity carrying with it the microphone. Thus, a new microphone may be readily inserted into the receptacle and housing and its audio opening will be readily aligned with the housing audio opening. The replacement microphone will be lodged tightly within the receptacle and housing, fully shock mounted with its audio seal about the audio opening.

What I claim is:

l. A microphone mounting assembly adapted to mount a microphone having an audio opening in one face thereof within a closed, generally rigid one-piece housing with an audio opening in one face of the housing and wherein said housing has a mounting opening at one end thereof for connection to a mounting surface, a resilient, one-piece elastomeric, yieldable receptacle structure open at one end, said receptacle structure shaped in close conformance with the contours of said microphone to tightly receive the microphone therein, said receptacle structure having an open end for allowing said microphone to slideably enter the interior thereof causing said structure to yield and bulge outwardly during and after said entry, a cavity in said housing in communication with said open end thereof for receiving said structure therein in tightfitting relation, an audio opening in said structure larger than the microphone audio opening, said structure opening positioned from the end wall of the housing to align the microphone with housing opening on full insertion of the structure into the housing, and lip means on said structure adjacent the open end thereof for maintaining said microphone within the housing with the audio openings in alignment.

2. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is an integral sealing area on said structure surrounding said audio opening to sealingly engage said housing to produce an audio seal between the microphone and the housing adjacent the audio opening.

3. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of yieldable ribs integrally extending from said receptacle structure for engaging walls of the housing cavity to firmly lodge the structure and microphone therein.

4. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 1, further including a planar surface of said housing at said one end for resting on a planar mounting surface to allow securing of said housing to said mounting surface.

5. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mounting surface comprises a base section of a telephone handset cradle, and in which there are means on said housing to mount said housing to said cradle to position said housing with its audio opening directed between tines of said cradle with the housing below handset holding tines of said cradle. 

1. A microphone mounting assembly adapted to mount a microphone having an audio opening in one face thereof within a closed, generally rigid one-piece housing with an audio opening in one face of the housing and whereiN said housing has a mounting opening at one end thereof for connection to a mounting surface, a resilient, one-piece elastomeric, yieldable receptacle structure open at one end, said receptacle structure shaped in close conformance with the contours of said microphone to tightly receive the microphone therein, said receptacle structure having an open end for allowing said microphone to slideably enter the interior thereof causing said structure to yield and bulge outwardly during and after said entry, a cavity in said housing in communication with said open end thereof for receiving said structure therein in tight-fitting relation, an audio opening in said structure larger than the microphone audio opening, said structure opening positioned from the end wall of the housing to align the microphone opening with housing opening on full insertion of the structure into the housing, and lip means on said structure adjacent the open end thereof for maintaining said microphone within the housing with the audio openings in alignment.
 2. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is an integral sealing area on said structure surrounding said audio opening to sealingly engage said housing to produce an audio seal between the microphone and the housing adjacent the audio opening.
 3. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of yieldable ribs integrally extending from said receptacle structure for engaging walls of the housing cavity to firmly lodge the structure and microphone therein.
 4. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 1, further including a planar surface of said housing at said one end for resting on a planar mounting surface to allow securing of said housing to said mounting surface.
 5. A mounting assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mounting surface comprises a base section of a telephone handset cradle, and in which there are means on said housing to mount said housing to said cradle to position said housing with its audio opening directed between tines of said cradle with the housing below handset holding tines of said cradle. 